So Google have announced they are to release an operating system (called Chrome) for the pc. The majority of commentators see this as a direct challenge to Microsoft Windows but from what I understand Chrome is a very different concept. I have been arguing for years that all we will need from the operating system of the future is the ability to boot up and run a web browser and this is just what Google have announced. The Chrome O/S is aimed at netbooks, a rapidly growing but still niche corner of the pc market. Netbooks are intended for people who live their lives on the road and online. The applications you run on a netbook are, for the most part,  applications that run in a browser (it just so happens Google offer one or two of these). The applications you run on a pc are, for the most part, client server applications written for the Windows platform. It is this base of client applications that is Windows' strength. Neither Google nor anyone else will break our dependence on Windows until such time as we are happy to run everything on-line. That day will surely come, but it will take more than Chrome to bring about Windows demise.

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